Re-record, not fade away…

Big Finish Folly, Part 67 – Whispers of Terror, by Justin Richards

A visit to the Museum of Aural Antiquities coincides with a dark plot to “revise” some of the museum’s exhibits. On the eve of planet-wide elections, Beth Pernell wants to use recordings of the now-deceased visionary actor and politician Visteen Krane to prop up her own bid for power. But as strange voices echo around the museum and the bodies begin to pile up, could it be that Visteen Krane is not quite as dead as everyone believes him to be? Pause for the Doctor’s arrival, then fast forward to the action…

Record Breaking

So, summer’s here and it’s time for more positivity! It’s especially good news this time around, from friend and colleague Stuart Sheard, who spent the last five years working for the less-than-grateful Nipper before we were both unceremoniously scrapped. Stu has a masterplan, and now it is coming to fruition…

Stu gets ready to break some records…

If you go here, (hosted by Alternative Barnsley) you’ll get the full interview, but the basic gen is that Stu is taking the bull by the horns and opening a new independent music shop in Barnsley – Debut Records – to fill the void that HMV has left. There’s a definite gap in the market, despite the fact that this is a brave move in these uncertain times, and I certainly wish him all the best. (Hence the plug, of course!)

You can follow Stu’s adventures in retail on Facebook and Twitter and, most importantly, when the shop opens at the end of this month you can go and say hi to the man himself and Support the High Street.

The Real Clone Wars…

Big Finish Folly, Part 66 – The First Sontarans, by Andrew Smith

Earth, 1872: The Doctor and Peri almost literally trip over a transmitter beacon on the Moon. “We are here,” it is sending out to the cosmos. But who is “we”? And why have they come to Earth? The Doctor investigates, but Earth may not survive the answer…

The Planet Assassin

Big Finish Folly, Part 65 – Power Play, by Gary Hopkins

Chased to Earth by the intergalactic police, The Doctor is forced down near a new nuclear power station. While Peri gets tangled up with the power station’s rather unctuous PR manager, the Doctor bumps into somebody who never thought she would see him again. But far from being delighted by the reunion, old companion Victoria Waterfield just wants to kill the Doctor. And the clock is ticking…

Safe as Melkur¹

Whoops. I’ve fallen behind schedule here – how dafunk did that happen? The days are just flying by, and Big Finish Folly has missed an episode! Well, that’s easy to put right. Here’s the start of another “season” of Sixth Doctor plays, beginning with another triptych of Lost Stories. And the return of some iconic bad guys too…

Big Finish Folly, Part 64 – The Guardians of Prophecy, by Johnny Byrne and Jonathan Morris.

The world of Serenity is the only surviving remnant of the Union of Traken. Peaceful for the last thousand years, governed by an artificial intelligence named Prophecy, Serenity is however on the verge of outright civil war. And deep in an underground tomb, the planet’s legacy of pure evil is about to be awoken… Yep, it’s time for the Doctor to arrive…

This is a proper nostalgia trip. The Master and Nyssa aside, the one thing people remember most about The Keeper of Traken is the rock-hard bad guy statue, the Melkur. A wonderfully designed monster, all curves and lines, the Melkur come in numbers here, blasting scenery to pieces. Even better, they’re voiced by the chap who originally had to wear the awkward rubber costume, The Bill’s own Graham Cole. Bad as they are however, they are overshadowed by Stephen Thorne’s excellently over-the-top Malador.

A fast-paced four-parter, Guardians of Prophecy takes care of all the usual tropes within the first episode – foreshadowing evil, bickering bureaucrats, fomenting revolution, canny tomb raiders, Tardis pulled off-course – and then spends the remainder of its running time making things explode. I like it, but it doesn’t really make for anything really deep. However since this is supposed to be a “missing 80s” episode, depth is perhaps optional. Nothing really grates, which is down to Jonathan Morris’s adaptation of the source material, and this would be a pretty decent story to use as an introduction to the audio plays for anybody who fancies dipping into them.
****

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¹Captain Beefheart’s debut album – and easily the least “difficult” to listen to – was called Safe As Milk.